Beauty saves the Beast
by Delaneyy016
Summary: Isabelle, a normal girl living in a small town in Washington, reads about a man filled with so much hate that he transformed into a beastly creature. She travels to Seattle for a tour of a college when she runs into the circus the Beast was being held prisoner. Join her on her journey of taming the beast, or perhaps not taming him
1. College Stress

"Isabelle, please come with me, I don't want to go alone." My sister, Jenny, had been ditched by her flaky boyfriend again, and once again she was trying to drag me along. Her blue eyes pleading me. "You love reading anyways, don't you? It will be fun." She had been trying to convince me to take a road trip with her to Seattle's annual book fest, all week, though the real reason she wanted to go was to see the bands who would be playing at the fest.

Before my sister interrupted me, I had been peacefully sitting in my living room, petting our cat Humpty, waiting for my tea to set. He's called that because when I was younger he would refuse to come in our living room, but whenever the Hunchback of Notre Dame was on, he'd stroll in. His dark grey fur always floating through the air when he walked by, and he would purr on my lap for hours.

Our house was small, only one floor, and old fashioned, built sometime in the early 1900's. Mom had a very distinct sense of décor. Our yellow house stuck out from all the neighbors in Parkwood, Washington. We had a various mix of old and new, but somehow she always made it look good. Our kitchen had wood cabinets, a stone backsplash, and stone flooring. It looked like a hobbit kitchen, and it always smelled like cinnamon. Mom and Dad slept in the masters bedroom, and I shared a room with Jenny, though she was rarely around to share a room with. She was a very social girl, always out with her boyfriend Lou (short for Louis, but I call him Lou Lou,) or her two girlfriends Lisa and Brianne.

I sighed, "I love you, but I don't want to leave, I have plans this week, and anyways," I paused for a dramatic effect, "I can't get work off this late in advance." I saw the hurt in her eyes right away. "Mom wont let me go alone and nobody else will go with me!" We argued for a while after that, but she got angry and went for a drive. Sometimes being the oldest had its perks, sometimes it was tough. Jenny was sixteen, two years younger than me. She was very mature and well mannered for the most part, until she doesn't get what she wants and she turns into a selfish monster.

I grabbed my laptop and cup of tea, went to my room, and sat on my bed. It was positioned right in front of the window, and peered outside. Although our house was small, it never seemed crowded with just the four of us- well, five counting Humpty. Plus it had the most amazing view you could imagine. It was always rainy and the trees were evergreens, stepping outside and inhaling fresh pine and rain never got old. I cracked the window and watched a family of quail make their way around.

My laptop buzzed, so I sat up, yawning and opening my new Apple laptop. An email from Kayana Turner, my best friend who lives a few blocks away.

Hey Belle, what's up? I keep getting emails from Rainview Campus asking me to come in for a tour. I did some investigating, and these guys seriously have the best astronomy program! This is exactly what your looking for. They have cheap rooms, great instate tuition, and its in Seattle, so its close! I told them I already had a scholarship, but I mentioned you to them, so you may be getting an email. Anyways, lets go get breakfast tomorrow morning! Meet me 9:00am at The Rising Sun, love ya. -K

I tried not to be annoyed, not at Kayana, but everybody expects me to find a college in Washington. Mom has been shoving college letters at my face left and right, and although I appreciate them all trying, it doesn't change the fact that I want to get out of here. I've lived in this house my whole life, every year is the same routine, and once I graduate this spring I'll finally have a chance to get out of here.

Closing my laptop, I glanced at my green alarm clock. It was already almost ten, and now I had to wake up early to meet Kayana. I grabbed a t-shirt and some comfy shorts to change into, and went to the bathroom. I wasn't anything special to look at, if anything I was a misfit in my family. Everyone in my family has ocean blue eyes and dirty blond hair, except my dad who has brown hair, but I have bright green eyes and auburn hair. I'm 5'3", and decently fit from my boxing class I've been taking for two years now. Mom and Dad make me, but I've grown to like it.

After I finished getting ready for bed, I walked down the hall to my mom and dad's room. My dad isn't home, he's in Oregon visiting his dad who isn't doing too well because of lung cancer. I knocked on the door, "Come in," my mom, Millie, was laying in bed reading magazines and listening to a talk show. "Hey sweetie, how are you?" She put her magazine now, giving me all of her attention. She was such a timid and shy woman, but such a loving and caring mom. She always supported Jenny and I, no matter what.

I considered telling her about the college Kayana was determined to get me to tour, but I didn't want to get her hopes up and disappoint her. "Just came to say night. I'm going to breakfast tomorrow and I'll probably be gone for a while," I said, thinking about all the errands I needed to run.

"Oh if you go to the grocery store could you grab me a few things?" She asked, scribbling on a piece of magazine.

"Sure, why not." I smiled and looked around her room, the walls were a pale pink, same with the bed covers, and there were heart shaped things all over. I know Dad isn't the biggest fan, but he loves Mom and he puts up with it. To be fair, she puts up with a lot of what Dad does. He's always pulling pranks and messing around, he's a great dad but he has a very unique and cruel sense of humor; like the time he hid Kayana's car keys and told her it was the 'Kayana Key Mystery'. He didn't give them back for a week, and she had to walk to school.

She handed me a list which I shoved in the pockets of my shorts. "You know, Jenny really wanted you to go to that festival with her." I looked up, rolling my eyes. "Mom, I can't get work off." I explained for what felt like the ninth time today. "You can get someone to cover you?" She had a determined expression on her face. "I don't know, that's not really my thing, all those people." She didn't look pleased, "You love reading. Honey, please just try. This means a lot to your sister."

I was laughing in my head because she probably didn't care, she just wanted to see her friends who were going, and all the 'cute band boys', she could care less about reading. I had always been the reader, she was the watcher. Always on the TV or a video game.

"Okay, I'll try, but no promises." I gave her a hug goodnight and walked back to my room.

At this point I was extremely sleepy, I laid on my bed and pet Humpty, eventually falling asleep.

I only woke up one more time that night when Jenny came home around midnight, I remember her saying something to me but I don't know exactly what she said, I was too tired.

I woke up the next morning at eight, got ready for the day, jumped in my pale blue bug, and drove to meet Kayana. "Hi!" She hugged me outside the restaurant when I got there, I was still out of it. "Good morning," I mumbled, hugging her back. "Whoa, someone has some negative vibes. Lets get a table and you can tell me all about it."

She always seemed to know when something was up.

Kayana was very into the whole 'cleansing soul, vibes, Buddhist' thing. She was always so optimistic and looked for the good in people. I've known her for thirteen years and I've only heard her talk bad about one person, her mom, an alcoholic who no longer is allowed contact with Kay.

Sipping my coffee, I looked around the restaurant. Kayana liked this place because it had a very earthy vibe, the green table cloths, wooden benches, hanging lanterns, and even a waterfall seemed to do the trick. It always smelled like fresh maple syrup. Kayana ordered the veggie omelet with a side a fruit, typical for a vegetarian I suppose. I ordered eggs, bacon, toast, and a side of hash browns. We both got coffee to drink.

"Okay now tell me what's wrong." She looked at me with her golden brown eyes, and shoulder length black hair. Her brown skin looked almost the color of her eyes in this dim light.

I sipped my coffee and pushed the last of my eggs around on my plate, "Nothing." I lied, but she obviously didn't buy it. She gave me a loving glare, which she's very good at. "Okay, truth be told I'm just so stressed out about college. I don't know what to do. Everybody expects me to find a school close by, but I'm not sure that's what I want." I didn't look at her, scared of what she might say. I was biting my lip and strictly looking at my plate.

"Listen, Belle. I expect you to do what makes you happy, and I expect that you'll give yourself the best experience you can. Whether that's here or in Canada, I just want you to be happy." She paused, "Look, why don't you and I go to Seattle this week to check out that college, and if you don't like I promise I'll help you explore your options. Deal?" I looked up at her and smiled. "Okay, I'll have to get work off.." I trailed off, thinking about Jenny. If I went to Seattle I could take her to her book fest. "And, can Jenny come? She wants to go to this book thing in Seattle."

"Absolutely! Alright, I'll pay for breakfast this time." She paid, left a tip, and we headed out.

"I have to run a few errands for my mom. Thanks for going to breakfast with me, I'll text you when I get home." I informed her as she got into her car, "Alright, bye Love!" She smiled, then blasted her Indian rock music that she's eternally listening to.

I got in my car and rolled the windows down, even though it was raining. It was always raining here. Driving to the store, I was on autopilot, looking at the road ahead of me. Driving was always my thinking time. After about seven minutes I pulled into the grocery store, parked next to a hot pink jeep, and went in. _Whipped cream, potatoes, boneless chicken, peppers, ice cream- cookies and cream, and pick out a treat for yourself kiddo. Love Mom._ She had stuck a five dollar bill on the paper and I hadn't even noticed it.

Being me, I automatically wandered into the book section. Nothing new, I would know. I check every time we go shopping. But then.. Something caught my eye, I reached up the silver shelves and picked up a book with some sort of beast on it. Almost like a bear, but not. The picture showed the creature standing upright, and it almost looked like a circus in the background. I read the title, _Beastly Brave_. I flipped through it, and it told me about a man who was filled with so much hate that he turned into a beast. He joined the circus because nobody else would accept him, and became their prisoner.

The book was so detailed and depressing, and almost seemed like desperation was being called out. I swiftly placed it back on the shelf and continued shopping. _That poor guy.._ I thought to myself, although I assumed it was just a myth.

That evening I packed some of my clothes that I was taking with me, just as Jenny walked in. "Going somewhere?" She asked, eyeing my blue flowered suitcase. "Yeah actually." I said, a smile playing across my face. She had a puzzled expression, "Where?" I looked at her and grinned.

"Jenny, we're going to the book fair."


	2. The Burn

"We'll be back in three days, Mom, stop worrying." My mom the next morning was following us around and clearly anxious while we packed our stuff into the car. "Dad will be home tonight, and you'll have humpty to keep you company until then." I said, trying to make her feel better. She has almost never been without my sister and I, and Dad had already been gone longer than we had thought.

She hugged me once more, "I know, I know. Sorry dear, I guess I'm just a bit worried. I know you two will be alright."

We piled the last of our things into the car as Kayana pulled up. "Hi guys!" She said, walking up our driveway to our car, "Ready?" She asked, loading her portion of still into my already full trunk. "I'm almost ready, I just need to grab one more thing from inside." Nobody was really paying attention, Jenny was chatting up a storm to Kay and Mom was checking the car to make sure everything is in order. I walked inside, down the hall to my room to grab my laptop. I stopped dead in my tracks and my eyes grew wide.

There on my bed, next to my laptop, sat the book I saw while shopping. _Beastly Brave._ I stood there contemplating every single situation as to why this book was here. Perhaps I had accidentlly put it in my bag instead of the shelf, maybe Mom or Jenny put it here, maybe Humpty dragged it here. All this thinking felt like years, though it was a matter of seconds. My hands, shaky and cold, reached down to pick up the brown, felty book. Instantly, I knew it couldn't have been the same book as the one in the store. This book had texture, the one I saw earlier was smooth and new. As I opened the book, the pages were crinkly and old, they seemed to be hundreds of years old. The words in some places were smearly, as if the book had been written in ink.

I was standing there in awe, my mouth open as my fingers ran across the pages of the book. I realized everyone was probably waiting for me, and I knew I couldn't tell them about the book. They wouldn't believe me, even Kayana would tell me to put it back where I got it. Snapping out of my daze, I turned and walked back down the hall, giving Humpty a pet goodbye. I ran outside, Jenny and Kayana were just climbing into the car. I climbed into the drivers seat, "Seatbelts everyone!" We rolled down the windows and waved at Mom as we backed out of the driveway. "Bye Mom! Be back in three days!"

As we drove through city to city, we took turns listening to music. We kept the windows rolled down despite the fact that it had been raining all day. Personally, I loved the rain. I loved the way everything looked brighter and even more green under the stormy sky.

Ever since I was a little girl, rain had always cheered me up rather than making me sad. I always went out in the rain, the feeling of the little drops washing over my ivory skin, wetting down my wavy shoulder length hair, it was so renewing, so energizing, so peaceful.

"Doesn't this just lift your spirits? The clensing vibes of the rain, pitter pattering on the tender surface of the earth." Kayana said, almost to herself as she looked at a herd of grazing cattle in a bright green meadow. "But as much as I love this view, I'm starving. How much further until we stop?" Jenny pulled her earphones out at the mention of food, our music was very different from hers. "Well, we're about ten minutes away from the next town, we can look for food there." I said, reading the road signs.

A few minutes later we pulled into a Wendy's, and went in for some lunch. I ordered a cheeseburger, a salad, and a drink, same as Jenny. Kayana, being a vegetarian, ordered a veggie burger and a salad. We sat at a booth to eat, and barely talked. We were all so hungry.

"Much better." I said afterwards, and we climbed back into the car again, on our way. The rain had let up a bit, we turned on some Irish Folk music, and enjoyed the peacefulness. Kayana had taken a turn to drive, and I was in the backseat stretching my legs. "How much longer until we get there?" Jenny chirped from the front seat, searching songs on her iPod. "Gretchen says another hour." I said, looking at the GPS which Dad had appropriately named. Jenny sighed. "Just enjoy the view!" Kay told her, affectionately punching her shoulder. "If your okay driving for a while, I might take a nap. Just wake me up when we get to Seattle and I'll direct us to the hotel." I said, laying down.

"Alright girl, you get some beauty rest. Recharge your chuckras." Chuckra? I didn't bother to ask, I pulled out a blanket and pillow from the trunk. I fell asleep after about ten minutes, I dreamt a strange dream. I was standing in the middle of a ring of fire, there were voices all around. Shouting, clapping, whistling, and... roaring? I looked up, the ceiling wasn't a ceiling at all, but a tent roof. A giant roof. My feet were burning hot under me, I was in a haze, running trying to excape. "Bring out the beast!" A bald man wearing a red trench coat was standing in the ring with me. All of the sudden the flames disapeared out of nowhere. There were hundreds of people just watching me with anxious expressions, but looking closely, I realized they weren't looking at me at all.

They were looking behind me.

I whirled around, from the shadows of the candle lit tent, there was a huge beast emerging from the corner. I tried running, a huge flame appeared, burning the side of my left hand from my pinky to my wrist, I held back tears, looking at my pink exposed crowd was cheering as the beast circled around me, looking me in the eye. He was standing on all fours, he had long, thick brown fur. He had ears less like a bear and more like a dog, although he was bigger than any bear I'd ever seen. He had fangs coming from his bottom set of teeth, baring them at me.

"Please... Please stop this. You don't have to do this, they can't make you." I pleaded, right after I said that, he pounced on me. His weight crushing me as he raised a paw about to end my exsistence. I cried, turning my head and closing my eyes.

"Isabelle, wake up." I sat up with a start, it had all been a dream. "What on earth? You were screaming." I was? I looked at her, my eyes watering. "It's alright, it was just a bad dream. I'm sorry."

She looked back at me, sympathetic through the rearview mirror. "It's alright honey, are you okay?" I forced a smile, "Fine, don't worry about me. How much longer do we have?" I moved over to the middle seat. "About fifteen minutes. We got into Seattle a little while ago, but I didn't want to wake you up." I snorted, "You should've." I said, remembering my terryfing dream. I looked down at my hands, they were shaking. However, thats not what interested me. I swallowed, my heart dropping to my stomach. I looked down at my pale hands and what I saw was not real. It couldn't be.

A burn. Not just any burn, but the exact burn I had in my nightmare.

I still didn't want to tell Jenny or Kayana about any of this, I didn't want them to think I've lost my mind. Discretely, I pulled out a small white cloth and medical tape from my backpack, I wraped it around my burn, and pulled my red sweatshirt over my hand to hide it. "Here!" Jenny exclaimed, making me jump a mile high. I looked out my window and saw the hotel we were staying at, The Night Inn. I gladly jumped out of the car as soon as we parked. After we had checked in and brought all of our stuff up, I thought it would be a good idea to call mom. I checked the time, it was almost eight. "Hey, Jenny, maybe Dad is home by now. Lets call Mom and check in."

I pulled out my laptop as I sat on my bed. Jenny and I got the beds, Kay offered to take the couch. The room was much nicer than I thought it would be. There were red velvet curtains, the walls were dark log pannels, the floor had the softest, most plush carpet I had ever walked on. It was like walking on a cloud, the huge white fluffy clouds you see in the sky. The kitchen was small, but very nice, and it had everything we needed. The padio had an amazing view of the city, and an outdoor hottub. The bathroom had a shower and a tub, and the living room area had a sweet T.V.

I typed Mom's skype name, it rang for a while before she answered. "Hi, Mom," Jenny and I said in harmony. "Hi, girls, are you at your hotel?" She asked, it looked as though she had just gotten out of the shower. Her hair was damp and she had her purple robe on. "Yep, just got here," I said, turning the laptop screen so she could see the room. "It's really nice," she said, smiling. "Yeah, cozy." Jenny said, a hint of sarcasm. Jenny had been acting sassy since we got to the hotel, who knows why. Awkward silence played through the air.

"Well, we had a long day. We might go grab some dinner, the hotel serves free breakfast and dinner. I think it closes soon, so we better go." I noticed she was alone, "Isn't Dad back yet?" She smiled even bigger, "Yes, he just got home. He's washing up right now, then we're also going to dinner. He made reservations at Goût du Paradis, meaning 'Taste of Paradise' in French. It's new, and I've heard it's really yummy. I too, have to go get ready. I love you girls!"

We hung up and headed downstairs to see if dinner was still being served, we got there right as they were cleaning up, but they let us help ourselves to whatever was left.

All three of us took showers, and once we were all cleaned up, Kayana made us some "Cleansing Cocoa," which was actually super delicious. "Lets watch a movie, I don't want to go to sleep yet." Jenny said, rummaging through her bag. She pulled out a documentary of Alcatraz, which she's always been interested in. Kayana shared a glance, _great pick._ Kay and I fell asleep half way through the movie, although I think Jenny finished it.

That night I had the same nightmare, although this time instead of flames it was huge men with whips, keeping me in the center of the tent. The nightmare didn't last long, and it wasn't as clear this time. I woke up at 3:45, and immediately went into the bathroom. I checked my body for more burns or marks, but I didn't find anything. Wary, I went back to lay down. I had trouble sleeping that night, and I decided maybe the best thing to do was to get rid of that dang book. I quietly grabbed my back from the side of my bed and found the book, and snuck out of the room. There was a trash chute down the hall. Perfect.

I walked to the end of the dim-lit hall, the walls were decorated with swirls of brown and red and tan. The carpet out here wasn't as soft, but it was still clean and nice. I made it to the end of the hall and pulled down the handle of the chute. "Hopefully my luck starts looking up with you gone." I said, looking at the book. It was odd, whenever I held the book, it was like a lure. I didn't exactly want to let it go. After staring at it for a moment, I threw it down and heard it clunk at the bottom. Feeling a wave of releif wash over me, I made my way back to the room. Jenny and Kayana were still sleeping, and I layed back down to sleep.

"Yes, two bacon platters, eggs with ham, French toast, fruit, pancakes, and juice. Please." Jenny said over the phone. "Are you ordering room service?" I asked her, marching across the room to her. "Yep, I already went downstairs and breakfast was gone." She furvently listened to whoever was on the other end of the phone. I decided not to be mad, even though rooom service cost a fortune. I told her to order me something, and I walked into the bathroom to get ready. I pulled a green sweatshirt over my head, wearing a light brown blouse underneith. I slipped on some light colored jeans, applied a layer of mascara, and combed through my hair; eventually putting it in a messy bun.

I had never thought of myself as beautiful, although I knew others did. I never wore more makeup than mascara, and on special occasions lipstick. I admit though, today I tried to look a little nicer than usual, since today we would be touring the college.

"Hey, Belle, come here." Kayana called out from the kitchen. I walked out of the bathroom, she was standing by the front door, holding something in her hand. "There's a package here addressed to you. Huh, thats weird, how did someone know we were here?" She asked, handing me a rectangle package wrapped in brown flimsy cardboard material. I knew what it was right away. "What's wrong?" Jenny had walked over, noticing my worried expression. "Nothing, it's probably more college letters." I said, walking into the bedroom and closing the door on them. "I'll be right out, tell me if the food gets here."

I unwrapped the brown package, and sure enough it was the book I had thrown out last night. I was so frusterated, tears streamed down my face. _Maybe I should tell them about this..._ I held the book in my hand, wiping my tears away with the other. I considered it, maybe this was a practical joke. Maybe Dad was behind this, he was after all, an incurable jokster. Or maybe Jenny was getting me back for all the pranks I pulled on her. I knew it wasn't Kayana, she would never do that.

I decided not to tell anyone about this, yet. I pushed the book back into my bag, and headed out to eat breakfast.

As I dove into my eggs, a terrifying thought came to mind. _What if this is all connected, my dream, the burn, the book..._ What if, in some crazy way, this was real? No. Thats impossible.

The three of us headed out after eating, and started driving to the school. _This is real life, not a fantasy._


End file.
